Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-09-11

tents of the bottles had the effect to dis
perse the devils for the night at least, and
in due course Of time and circumstance l
arrived in Cincinnati alone, the devils
having evidently missed a connection
somewhere.
1.-The change of scene seemed to do me
good, but l was still a long way from
being the same man who had left Wash
ington two months before in excellent
health and ebullient spirits, and an
equally great distance from the goal OF
sobriety. However, / realized the neces-
sity Of obtaining employment at once, as
] didn't know a soul in the town, and
my financial affairs were in a very m
harrassing condition. / think 1 had less
than a dollar when this prudential sug-
gestion crept upon me, and in further
ance of its behest l made application for
q situation at the first Office / came to.
Fortunately the proprietors were as
anxious to secure help as ] was to get
into a position Of self sustenance, and
they didn't look me over very carefully,
30 l wa engaged to report for duty that
| night, which l did. For obvious reasons
I drank very sparingly before going to
work and felt very shaky as the night
wore on. / tried hard to overcome my
nervousness by close application to my
work, and had almost deluded myself
into the belief that / would succeed,
when. obeying an uncomfortable impulse
TO look up, knowing full well what !
should see, l raised my head, and-to my
dismay there sat the three little devils
looking, if possible, more grewsome than
ever, but as clipper as any devils ever
were and manifesdy delighted to have
found me again. They must have come
in on a late train, but how they managed
TO procure my address so soon after their
arrival and before / had fairly mem
orized it myself / have never been able
to surmise. I'll swear / didn't ask 'em.
''They took seats in front of my desk,
but were sufficiently considerable Of my
four or five hours connection with the
Office TO refrain from implying intimate
acquaintance with me by ~betraying soil
citude for my health, referring to u
simultaneous departure from New York,
or indulging in other remarks calculated
to convey the impression to strangers
that my associations Were bad, and for
their delicacy and tact / shall always feel
grateful, particularly as we parted that
night never to meet again-on earth, at
least"
How did you manage to get rid Of
themi''
Il didn't get rid of them; they shook
me. The sight Of those little grinning
sprites sitting in front of me made me
awfully thirsty and frightfully nervous.
i stood it for a little while, but finally
asked permission to go out and get
something TO eat Permission was
granted, but / couldn't have eaten any
thing had my life depended upon my
doing so. Twas whisky / wanted, and l
wanted it mighty quick, too. ! went out
ard the three little devils followed, one
at each of my shoulders and the third i'm
mediately behind me.
1.-The office in which / was employed
was located on Fourth street. just below
Walnut, a part Of the city as dark and
deserted at that time and at that hour Of
the night between IL and 1 o'clock as
in the dry goods or leather district of
New York. / was wholly unacquainted
with the neighborhood, of course, and
hadn't the faintest idea where to look for
a saloon, but l was rapidly approaching
the conviction that l must find n oon
OF go crazy. The devils were close upon
my heels, and ! fancied ! could see flashes
of heat radiating from them and scorch.
ing my flesh. Closer and closer they
pressed me as / walked hurriedly up
Fourth street TO Sycamore, where. not
finding a barroom open, / stopped and
retraced my steps, intending to try
Fourth street in the opposite direction
from Walnut. As / returned to Walnut
street neutrality-suspicious. twas the
devils-impelled me to look down the
incline toward the river, and, although |
had done 20 when / crossed that street to
20 up, without seeing a light, / did so
again. and TO my unbouDded delight l
saw a red lamp, dim, to be sure, but still
10 me unmistakable evidence that | had
found what | was in quest Of.
Il fairly ran to the place, and found
il to be a low GROCERY of the ordinary
type; but that discovery didn't dis
courage me. II wasn't quality l wanted,
but quantity. / stepped down two steps,
opened the door, and went in. The
devils went in too. A descent of two
steps more brought me to the floor, and
half a dozen PAGES rapidly taken brought
me to the bar, which was directly oppo-
site the door and facing it. The room
wa a large one and dimly lighted, and
opening out of il was another room, un-
lighted, reached by walking down two
steps corresponding in their distance Of
descent with the incline of the street
toward the river. These latter details !
subsequently learned from the papers,
but ! mention them as though ! had
taken them in with my eye at the time
In order TO show my position, and for
the same purpose i will add hat a heavy
and very dirty tapestry curtain hung in
the doorway between the two rooms and
was half drawn.
..As / went h I observed that the
room had but two occupants-the bar
tender and a nan facing him, with the
counter between them. Both were talk
ing loudly, but / was so intent upon
getting a drink that ! scarcely needed
what they said. ! walked over 10 the
bar and called for come whisky, but
neither man paid the slightest attention
TO me, nor appeared to notice that any
one had entered the room.
Il was then aware that the two were
quarreling violently and hesitated a mo
ment before repeating my demand. Just
rs ! was about to do 50, however, the
bartender raised his left hand, which
until then had apparently been hanging
by his side, and in it was an old fash
toned horse pistol. With the utmost de
luL--.s-- - --s.-l IA - 49, Al. ..t.xxl.